Haptic Navigation Device

1. A navigation device comprising: a housing comprising an opening, two or more drive wheels, and two or more rollers; a spherical member located within the opening of the housing in direct contact with the two or more drive wheels and the two or more rollers such that the drive wheels control rotation of the spherical member in response to guidance signals received from a processor; and an attachable member coupled directly to the housing for securing the navigation device to a body part of a user and maintaining contact between the user's skin and the spherical member.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a global positioning system unit for determining a geographical location of the user; and a wireless internet unit to receive a navigation message from a remote device, wherein the processor compares the received navigation message with the geographical location of the user and translates the received navigation message into the guidance signals which cause the spherical member to rotate according to the received navigation message.

3. The navigation device of claim 1 , further comprising: an accelerometer and a gyroscope for measuring a relative orientation of the navigation device, whereby data produced by the accelerometer and the gyroscope are used by the processor to generate the guidance signals.

4. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein the attachable member is an article of clothing wearable by the user.

5. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein the attachable member comprises: a strap comprising a rigid material shaped to fit the body part of a user; and an extension member joining the housing with the strap, the extension member comprising an elastic material in a shape sufficient to maintain contact between the spherical member and the body part of a user.

6. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein an axis of rotation of the spherical member is perpendicular to a direction of travel indicated by a navigation message.

7. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein the two or more drive wheels and the two or more rollers are all arranged in a single plane.

8. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises at least two motors coupled to the two or more drive wheels for controlling the rotational movement of the spherical member.

9. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein the spherical member comprises tactile ridges or tactile grooves.

10. A navigation device comprising: a housing comprising an opening, two or more drive wheels, and two or more rollers, wherein the two or more drive wheels and the two or more rollers are all arranged in a single plane; a spherical member located within the opening of the housing in direct contact with the two or more drive wheels and the two or more rollers such that the drive wheels control rotation of the spherical member in response to guidance signals received from a processor, wherein an axis of rotation of the spherical member is perpendicular to a direction of travel indicated by a navigation message; and an attachable member coupled directly to the housing for securing the navigation device to a body part of a user and maintaining contact between the user's skin and the spherical member.

11. The navigation device according to claim 10 , further comprising: a global positioning system unit for determining a geographical location of the user; and a wireless internet unit to receive the navigation message from a remote device, wherein the processor compares the received navigation message with the geographical location of the user and translates the received navigation message into the guidance signals which cause the spherical member to rotate according to the received navigation message.

12. The navigation device according to claim 10 , further comprising: an accelerometer and a gyroscope for measuring a relative orientation of the navigation device, whereby data produced by the accelerometer and the gyroscope are used by the processor to generate the guidance signals.

13. The navigation device according to claim 10 , wherein the attachable member is an article of clothing wearable by the user.

14. The navigation device according to claim 10 , wherein the attachable member comprises: a strap comprising a rigid material shaped to fit the body part of a user; and an extension member joining the housing with the strap, the extension member comprising an elastic material in a shape sufficient to maintain contact between the spherical member and the body part of a user.

15. The navigation device according to claim 10 , wherein the housing comprises at least two motors coupled to the two or more drive wheels for controlling the rotational movement of the spherical member.

16. The navigation device according to claim 10 , wherein the spherical member comprises tactile ridges or tactile grooves.

17. A method comprising: receiving, by a haptic navigation device worn by a user, a navigation message from a remote device; determining a geographical location of the user from a global positioning unit of the haptic navigation device; determining a orientation of the haptic navigation device from a gyroscope integrated into the haptic navigation device; calculating a guidance signal based on the received navigation message, the geographical location of the user, and the orientation of the haptic navigation device; and sending the guidance signal to two or more motors causing a spherical member of the haptic navigation device to rotate, wherein the rotation of the spherical member corresponds to the received navigation message.

18. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising: detecting changes to the geographical location of the user and the orientation or the haptic navigation device; and recalculating the guidance signal based on the detected changes to the geographical location of the user and the orientation or the haptic navigation device.

19. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising: identifying an obstacle along a travel path of the user; and progressively adjusting a rotation speed of the spherical member in response to identifying the obstacle along the travel path of the user, wherein the rotation speed of the spherical member increases as a distance between the user and the obstacle decreases, or vice versa.

20. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising: identifying an obstacle along a travel path of the user; and causing the spherical member to vibrate in response to identifying the obstacle along the travel path of the user.